Summit promotes mental health among black women

At USC Village on Friday morning, 40 to 50 black women and non-binary students repeated the affirmation, “Sissy, you are a beloved vision of blackness.” Led by Brinell Lynn Anderson, professor of clinical education at the Rosier School of Education, the affirmation launched the “Sisters in Solidarity Summit.”

The Center for Black Alumni and Cultural Affairs hosted a conference focused on supporting and celebrating Black women’s mental health at USC. CBCA hosted the event in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry, the Viterbi School of Engineering, the USC Black Student Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Founded in 1977 under the Department of Campus Life, CBCA serves to connect the university and resources available to the black community. The Association’s primary goals are the retention of black students and providing them with the resources necessary for academic success. The event is the second hosted by the CBCA, following last spring’s Men’s Summit.

Divided into three separate sessions and an opening keynote address, each session focuses on one aspect of Black women’s experiences on campus in relation to mental health.

Keynote speaker Anderson began by asking the audience to focus on what motivated them to join the conference, whether it was the recent struggle or the search for “sisterhood.”

Anderson’s talk centered around “a vision of the security of your blackness that you cherish through the lens of the breadth of your African identity.” She noted the racial trauma that weighs on black women individually and collectively, but encouraged attendees to see those experiences as part of a much richer identity.

Our history did not begin with the oppression, police brutality, or mass incarceration we see today. No, we are rich in culture from the motherland.

Brennell Lynn Anderson, professor of clinical education at the Rossier School of Education

“Our history did not begin with our oppression,” Anderson said. “Our history did not begin with our kidnapping. Our story does not begin in the Middle Passage. Our history did not begin with slavery or Reconstruction, with terror or fighting or Jim Crow. Our history did not begin with the oppression, police brutality, or mass incarceration we see today. No, we are culturally richer than the motherland.

Anderson encouraged the audience to think about their “African identity” in four dimensions: personal identity, social identity, tribal identity, and divine identity.

As she discusses the “social self,” or the aspects of one’s identity related to people like family and friends, Anderson explains the importance of developing relationships that allow one’s true and best self to emerge.

“The beauty of this scale is creating relationships that serve us and letting go of those that eat us alive,” Anderson said.

Anderson also introduced the “tribal self,” or a unit of identity based on race. Rituals are a common way to assert tribal identity, Anderson said, and he led the group through a Libyan ceremony to honor their ancestors. As Anderson poured libations, the audience chanted surnames and responded in unison to each of the words “ashai,” which means “that’s how.”

After the keynote, attendees participated in an hour-long sound bath hosted by Bloom Holistic Healing, a Los Angeles-based organization that uses practices such as sound baths and breathwork to promote natural healing. Attendees sit on yoga mats as Bloom’s team leads guided meditation and relaxation exercises. As a key part of the process, the band played high frequency sounds including crystal bowls, Tibetan gongs, rain sticks and koshi chimes.

“The sound bath activated so many parts of my body that I felt like I was falling asleep,” said Sasha Lawrence, a sophomore psychology major who attended the event. “The sound bath connects with your body to your different energy centers and I definitely felt my life come alive, so that was amazing.”

Lawrence said she has experienced mental health stigma in the black community and as a black woman it can be difficult to have “any kind of mental health experience.” She said she believes events like Friday’s meeting will break down some of the barriers to needed conversations.

Black women are always expected to be strong, and it’s frustrating because you can only hold the weight of the world for so long until you crack.

Sarah Lawrence, a sophomore in psychology

“People don’t encourage you to vent, cry, and be vulnerable,” Lawrence says. “Black women are always expected to be strong, and it’s frustrating because you can only hold the weight of the world for so long until you crack. It was difficult to find places where I could talk about my mental health and where I could do so. But that’s why we created all these things, so that people can let go of the trauma of their ancestors and grow from there.

Lawrence strives to find time to meditate, be in nature, and explore the markets for self-care.

Following the second session’s small group discussion of perspectives on Black feminism at USC Student Health Counseling and Mental Health Services, the conference convened for a final panel on mental well-being beyond college. The panelists included Culver City Councilwoman Yasmine-Iman McMorrin, Marshall Business School Professor of Business and Chief of Global Inclusion, Sharon Little, and Dr. “Sunshine” Shalonda K.

During the discussion, Crawford sought to redefine the stereotypes and stereotypes of “strong black women.”

“When we talk about strong black women, there’s an expectation that we have to carry beyond rationality,” Crawford said. “I feel like many of us carry more than is reasonable. [and] Exploring a life of broken, burdened, tired and grumpy.

Milan Fritz, a senior majoring in neuroscience and advisor to CBCA’s Undergraduate Prospects, echoed Crawford’s concerns about stereotypes.

“The idea behind black women being strong is something that’s hugely stigmatizing in today’s society, and you’re not allowed to embrace our softer side. We have to protect people and continue to project that we are strong, we can do it all,” Fritz said.

During her speech, Little spoke about her struggles as a student during her time at university, which ultimately led to her academic challenge. She began pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the age of 16 after graduating high school a year earlier in Compton, California. While her academic skills speak for themselves, her mental capacity is not yet mature enough, she said.

“I was still smart, but it had nothing to do with being a good student. It was about doing what I had to do, but I wasn’t ready developmentally,” Little said. “Sometimes, we’re in a situation where we’re not there yet, but we try to force it… don’t do it to yourself.

Sometimes, we’re in a situation where we’re not there yet, but we try to force it… Don’t do this to yourself.

Sharon Little, Head of Global Inclusion at Creative Arts Agency

All three speakers focused on their struggles and failures over the years and the ways in which they resolved those experiences in their current careers.

“I started going into medicine in law school when I realized, ‘Oh, I need some tools here,'” McMorrin said. “Therapy is an integral part of who I am, and it ends up being this journey and the work that I do.”

Community health organizer and graduate student studying public policy Courtney King’s experiences and struggles at Arizona State University shape her current work.

“[At ASU]I felt like it was like, ‘We put students in leadership positions so they feel like leaders, but we don’t listen to them,'” King said. “So when I came here as a graduate student, I wanted to be a part of building experiences for undergraduates.”

CBSCA will continue to offer mental health outreach programs throughout the semester, including their biweekly “Health is Wealth” series.